‘Management’s got to be in the building’: Maura Healey blasts policy that allowed MBTA managers to live 100s of miles from Boston

Gov. Maura Healey promised “quick action” after a recent report from the Boston Globe revealed that several top managers at the MBTA live hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away from the troubled transit system.

The revelation comes as the MBTA continues to face heavy scrutiny and criticism for safety and service failures. 

“Management’s got to be in the building,” Healey told reporters on Monday. “Not just in the building, but on the tracks, in the facilities, in the garages. So I was as outraged as [anybody].”

Healey told reporters at the State House that the public would see “quick action” from her team to the “outrageous” telework practice, saying that her office has already taken action against several managers who live out of state, the Boston Globe reports.

Last week, a handful of the managers were reportedly told they need to work in Boston at least three days a week or find another job, according to the newspaper. 

“There will be more changes in policy,” Healey said.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated based on the following correction from the Globe:

Correction: Earlier versions of this story incorrectly reported that three MBTA managers live primarily in homes far from the T’s service area. The deputy safety chief has an apartment in Brighton and says he has not worked remotely since starting the job in February. Michele Stiehler, the T’s chief of paratransit, lives in Boston and walks to work. Jennifer Tabakin, who oversees the T’s South Coast Rail project, also has a home in Boston within walking distance of T headquarters. In addition, the story incorrectly reported that Ronald Ester’s “primary residence” is in Chicago; Ester said he considers his home in Massachusetts as his primary residence.

Dialynn Dwyer

Dialynn Dwyer is a reporter and editor at Boston.com, covering breaking and local news across Boston and New England.

 

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